RTVE has announced that Gonzalo Hermida, who will compete at the second semi-final of Benidorm Fest, has tested positive for COVID-19. This recent event has made the broadcaster modify some of the scheduled activities to ensure the safety of other participants and other people involved.

Earlier this morning, we have known that Gonzalo Hermida has tested positive for COVID-19, so we are adjusting some events we had scheduled in the coming hours. The press conference that was set for today’s afternoon has been cancelled, and the one set for tomorrow will remain, but will only feature the three hosts Alaska, Inés Hernán and Máximo Huerta. I hope you will understand that we need to increase the safety measures. Also, people that have been in contact with him in the last hours will be tested and the candidates will have to stay in the hotel’s room, said María Eizaguirre, Director of Communication and Participation of RTVE.

Gonzalo Hermida (@hermidagonzalo) ha dado positivo en coronavirus #BenidormFest #ElFestivalQueQuieres https://t.co/fwwAKRWjU8

— Eurovisión RTVE (@eurovision_tve) January 25, 2022

A few days ago, RTVE revealed the protocol for Benidorm Fest. The broadcaster and the company that will produce the show, Boomerang TV,  have set three different scenarios in case of positive of any of the competing artists.

1. If one of the participants tested positive for Covid-19 after the first rehearsal, this one would be recorded and broadcast at the show instead of the live performance.
2. If one of the participants tested positive for Covid-19 before the first rehearsal, the official music video will be broadcast at the show instead of the live performance.
3. If the participant(s) don’t have an official music video, a slideshow of pictures of the artist with the competing song as background music will be broadcast at the time of their performance.

The Spanish Head of Delegation Eva Mora stated that it was impossible to record backup performances for each artist due to the lack of time.

Benidorm Fest 2022 will be made up of three shows, two semi-finals and the Grand Final on January 29. 13 candidates will take part in the shows after the withdrawal of Luna Ki from the contest, so the first semifinal will have six participants while the second one will see seven candidates compete for one of the eight spots available for the final. The results will be decided by a combination of votes from two panels of experts, national (60%) and international (40%), and the public, televote (50%) and demoscopic jury made up of 350 members (50%).

The shows will take place at Palau Municipal d’Esports in Benidorm and will be hosted by singer Alaska, host and former minister of culture Máximo Huerta and host Inés Hernand from RTVE’s streaming platform Play.